Ret Con
by Akanesi
Summary: Jack ret-cons his team after the events of "Exit Wounds". Jack/John. This story is on hiatus and probably will never be restarted by me. If anyone wants to adopt it, feel free.
1. Time of the Year

It was that time again, Jack thought. Time to turn over a new leaf and have a clean slate. He did a lot of these times now. Every three years was average, six months had been the shortest and five years the longest. It was always him that had to help people through the pain and sometimes it all became too much. The people around him knew how much he had failed and didn't even try anymore. Then, it was that time of year.

Owen and Tosh were dead so he didn't have to worry about them. Ianto was easy, with no friends or family, no one to care. Gwen was hard though, because of the number of people who knew her, but also because Jack cared about her. He wanted to be able to come into work every day and see her but it wasn't to be. Everyone had to go. No one could return to work after what had happened. Jack knew that their resolve wouldn't be strong enough. That time of the year again.

The Ret-con time.


	2. Replacements

The new Torchwood was starting. The search for new members had begun and Jack was trying to forget about Owen and Tosh, Ianto and Gwen.

John of course got a place. How could Jack not give him one? He wanted some one around that knew who he really was. Someone he didn't have to constantly lie to. John was perfect. He was also a fighter. He could match any alien in a fist fight and use any weapon with supreme accuracy. He was also someone to go to for advice and to talk to about Grey. Someone who cared.

Second was a medical doctor. Martha. Who else? Someone who he knew could be relied upon to come through. Someone that also knew who he was and respected him for it. And she had something that John didn't have; she knew what he had gone through at the hands of the Master. She knew how he had suffered and she was always there to talk to. He knew it was his own fault that John didn't know and if Jack told him, John would accept it and offer support; it was just that Jack didn't want to share the pain.

So these were the two people, who he called the day after ret-conning his team. The two people who wouldn't ask where anyone was. The two people he trusted most with his life on the planet right now. John and Martha.

And another reason he hired them. He knows that he'll never have to ret-con either of them. And if he did, they wouldn't let him.


	3. Science Whiz

Jack has to think long and hard about his choices. Humans that will face their demons and remain trustworthy are few and far between but he would rather take the time and effort to pick out a perfect candidate, rather the pick someone unreliable and end up having to be on a ret-con clean up crew in a week.

He hated it when he had a crack team, people he knew to be sound, and have one stupid human tear them apart. Because humans, no matter how good, always ask questions, and one face, here one day and gone the next would raise some.

Martha recommended some people from UNIT, but they were all prim and proper and had never been in a fight in their life. John suggested some people he'd met on his travels, but they were all either dead or prostitutes. Not something that Jack would like in the office, despite the rumours.

He had had people lined up. Soldiers, scientists, doctors, civilians, a few close friends. A few of the "people" who were less conspicuous and think that they pass under Torchwood's radar but aren't the kind of aliens that kill and pretty clever for the planets they come from.

He had replaced Gwen with John, hopefully without the humanising talks every half hour and Owen with Martha, definitely without the remarks that made everyone want to puke. All business people, like Ianto, were easy, there were plenty of them around, especially with Jack's face but scientists who were clever enough and willing to take a sizable pay cut to work with aliens were very hard to come by. Jack had checked out Cardiff Uni (a dead end he knew), UNIT, with their brass, the local labs and finally he put an ad in the paper.

But it was hard to really give anyone details of their job without revealing top secret information and the words 'science whiz' didn't really go with people. So far, no one had hit. Jack was beginning to think he'd have to face it. They weren't going to find a replacement for Tosh. As if anyone could.


	4. My Life

Jack hated the way he had to dismiss the old and go with the new. Hated the way that they went through so many Torchwood personal without ever finding the right one, the one who would understand everything. He couldn't stand to say the names of all those he'd ret-conned. They would just bring tears and pain, remembering all the lives he destroyed and all those who didn't make it out.

So many Torchwood employees had died under his command. Too many. He didn't have all the bodies; the memories were buried with them, torn apart by smoke or shell and forgotten down the ages, until the next one arrives.

"Jack?"

"What?"

It was Martha. Jack was sat at his desk working and, glancing at his watch, he saw it's ten in the evening. John would already be down in Jack's room by now, having left the hub saying he was going to get pissed in the local pubs only to sneak back in through the tunnels. Jack and John took turns guessing how long it would be before Martha found out. Jack's guess, she already knew.

"What do you want Martha?"

"I was just wondering whether you've looked over that list of possible scientists from UNIT."

"Yeah, I have." Jack leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"Well?"

"I don't know, the one out of the," Jack checked the file, "47 that you brought me who didn't have her head stuck up her ass."

Martha huffed at that.

"Hung up on me. She called me insensitive."

"Oh, I can't imagine why." Martha perched on his desk and rolled he eyes.

"I'm a sensitive guy."

"It's not like that ad in the paper is going to work. It's more likely to get aliens coming after us."

Great! The Martha show. Every night this week she had moaned at him about the paper. She had a point but Jack was beginning to think that he'd swapped one storm for another.

"Jack!" This voice had come from behind him. John.

"Oh, great," Jack muttered, ignoring Martha's raised eyebrows and swivelled his chair around to see a, thank you, fully clothed John rise up the ladder, smile at Martha and proceed to use his oh, so delicate touch to trip on Jack's desk and up end it.

As Martha tried to rescue one squashed John, Jack raised his eyes to the ceiling and laughed:

"This is my life."


	5. Tenticle Woman

Jack was flicking through personal files of people who might make good office boys. He hated replacing Ianto, knowing that no one could ever be like the Welsh man. He was unique.

This was the one post that Jack hadn't got anyone lined up for, he always thought that if Ianto chose to leave, which was never going to happen, he could be replaced by Rhys. No ideal but he was strong. That option wasn't available anymore and it was doing his head in.

"You know, I know some people who'd make great receptionists."

John had been watching Jack slave over this decision all day and had decided it was time to step in.

"Yeah?" Jack replied, "People, lets say, with claws or some kind of pus excretion problem, maybe."

"Uhg, where is your faith in me."

Jack turned to him and crossed his arms. "So you're saying that none of these "people" look or are anything but human.

"Yes. Well, maybe, one has a few tentacles."

Jack groaned and turned back to the files.

"Oh, come on." John ran round the desk so Jack was facing him. Jack moved his chair round and John followed. Once they'd done a few circles, Jack leapt from his chair, trying to escape down the stairs.

"Oh, please!"

"No," Jack continued down to the hub.

"Please!"

"No!"

"Why not?"

Jack stopped, turned round and opened his mouth. After a few seconds he closed it again, unable to find a suitable argument that wouldn't sound too alienist.

"Aha, I knew you enjoyed that night with tentacle woman."

There was silence, Jack staring at John trying to kill him with a look and John grinning inanely. The smirk quickly faded however as Martha coughed loudly.

"Is this a private swapping of sex stories of can anyone join in?"

You could have fried eggs on Jack's face. Even John was looking slightly uncomfortable. Martha, however, smiled and shook her head.

"I've found our new receptionist."

"Oh, thank god." Jack made a dash for the door.


	6. Close Questioning

As Martha led Jack up to the office where this new receptionist was waiting, (John had decided to stay and sulk in the hub), Jack began to wonder what this new office boy would be like, whether he'd be good looking and willing to clean up Weevil guts. When had those two things come into one sentence?

Whatever Jack had expected it wasn't his, Martha thought, as they came out into the office, and she saw the look on Jack's face. He had been expecting a young, mid-twenties man possibly in suit that fitted VERY well. However a teenage, about eighteen year old, girl with jet black hair, hoodie and jeans didn't quite live up to the expectations.

The girl caught sight of them in the mirror behind the desk and turned to face them. She grinned at Jack and held out her hand,

"Hi, I'm Lucy; Martha says you've got some vacancies going?"

Jack realised that he'd been standing there, for at least twenty seconds, just staring at the out stretched hand. He must look like a fool.

"Hi." Jack took the hand but no more words seemed to be able to come.

But Lucy if anything looked more relaxed and assured than before. She raised her eyebrows at jack,

"Expecting someone else?"

"No, it's just; I don't usually employ people so…"

"Hot?"

"Young."

Lucy shrugged,

"Martha said there'd be an opening."

"Oh, she did, did she?" Jack's voice was almost a whisper so Martha didn't know whether the girl chose to ignore the reply or simply didn't hear it. Either was she knew she was in for trouble later on when Jack turned and fixed her with a glare that made her glad she was out of his reach. And not in a good way.

"To be honest," Lucy had started to talk again so back turned back to her, "I'm not even sure what the job is. 'Receptionist' is a bit fuzzy."

"Yeah." Jack wasn't sure what to do with her but he decided, for once in his life, to take the methodical approach. "But I'm sure you could do it. If we just go through here," he indicated the back office behind the desk, "I'll ask you a few questions. Martha, go down downstairs and find John. Make him stop whatever he's doing."

"Sure, Jack." Martha backed away and started down the corridor, thankful to leave. She knew that Jack was only seeing the girl as a favour to her and if it didn't work out, there'd be hell to pay.

But Martha had a good feeling about Lucy. She was the only person that had answered the newspaper ad and she had seemed really eager. Martha knew, however, that Jack had a point about her being too young. Eighteen was no age for your life to be destroyed at. Looking back now, Martha was shocked that she'd even said to Lucy she'd have an interview. She didn't know why she'd done it. Because if Jack hired her, Lucy could be killed.

It had happened before Martha knew, there were seven bodies down in the Torchwood morgue, and many more operatives hadn't had their bodies retrieved. Martha remembered the team when she had been here before and it hadn't consisted solely of John.

She had asked of course. Jack had shown her Tosh's body and told her through a strained voice about Owen. She asked about Gwen and Ianto and Jack had said that they left permentely. Martha knew that most people had a hard time adjusting to a friend's death, even more so when they were surrounded by aliens.

But she knew that Jack wasn't telling her everything. Sure, she hadn't known Gwen and Ianto that well. Gwen could have left to be with her husband, Rhys. But Ianto, who she knew had become personally involved with Jack, wouldn't have left unless he'd been driven away. That was Martha's theory until she had asked Jack. He'd said that:

"Ianto was gone a long time before I let John in. Ianto was never all really there in the first place. And it was dangerous being around a human."

That was when Martha had found out that John was an alien. She was a little miffed. Jack could have told her. She still saw John the same way, much like she'd first seen Jack before she'd got to know him. She asked Jack about John after that but Jack, getting a little cross at this close questioning, evaded, how Martha didn't quite know.

Though Martha dearly hoped there were no tentacles she should know about.


	7. Interogation

Jack waved Lucy into a chair and sat opposite her. He hadn't been in here very often, this being Ianto's domain. Because no one had come in here since… that day the room was spotless, books arranged neatly on dusted shelves, cushions on the chairs plumped up and the carpet immaculate.

The one problem was Jack's cushion. It had a moulded feel to it like it had had one person sitting in it for so long it would except no one else. Jack felt like an intruder. This was Ianto's chair. Jack moved forward quickly so he was perched on the edge.

"You didn't know I was coming did you?" Lucy asked.

"Not so much."

"Mmm, Martha said that I was the only one to respond to the ad in the paper. I don't know why. It's full-time sure, and a few nights, but the pays good."

"Yeah, everyone pulls their weight."

There was a silence. It occurred to Jack that he wasn't making this any easier. But if she was going to work for Torchwood she couldn't let unresponsive males stand in her way.

"So, do you want to see my references?"

"Yeah." Jack took them from her and flicked through. "I'm impressed." And he really was. Top range G.C.S.Es, army cadets from 14-16 and fresh out of the police academy 16-18. She'd had field experience, was hardened to the world and probably had seen her fair share of bullet and knife wounds on police patrol. Maybe Martha wasn't so wrong.

"Why'd you leave the police?" That was the first thing he wanted to know. Why would anyone want to be a receptionist after they'd had a taste of the action?

"I guess I just wanted something different. The police force wasn't everything that I dreamed it would be and I share a flat so I've got to bring in my share of the money."

Mmm, good enough reason Jack thought, but:

"Does that mean that if you get a better job offer you'll leave us?" He knew quite well that, if he hired her, the eighteen year old would never think of leaving, but it's the intent that counts.

"No, my flatmate just said that I should look for a receptionist job so I can work my way up through a company. How many people do you have working for you?"

Oh, no, this was not going to sound impressive.

"Well, we're only a branch off a bigger corporation," kind of the truth, "and all my previous staff have left, but then it would have been five, now it's two." That hadn't sounded good. "We're a very small branch," he finished lamely.

This was not gong well. He was meant to be conducting the interview, but instead he had an eighteen year old starring him down.

"Why did your people leave?"

Inwardly Jack groaned. He'd have to tell her the truth though. But since when had he wanted to hire her anyway, she was still too young? He honestly didn't know what a good age was in this line of work; whether humans could ever be mature enough for aliens.

"We had a death."

* * *

Lucy looked at him, noting the sorrow in his eyes and didn't push the point. When she looked at Jack she could see his darkness, which he tried so hard to hide and usually succeeded.

Lucy had liked Martha, but she wasn't so sure about Jack, there was something wrong with him. Not in the way he looked or spoke, or in fact much that he did, it went deeper than that.

She looked into the heart of him and saw sadness, it was in the way he laughed; it was forced, somehow.

"So, what would my job consist of?" She could see that Jack was relieved to get away from the subject of his dead friends and who wouldn't be?

"You'd answer the phones, make coffee, order pizza, collect and deliver and clean up after us, basically. And obviously there's paperwork and filing: knowing where everything's kept."

"Pretty basic. What about the nights?"

"Night and day, you're the chauffeur service."

Oh, lovely, Lucy thought. Though the idea of being called out night and day to drive Jack around was attractive, the driver always ended up with the messy jobs.

"Wonderful!"

"Have you got a driving licence?"

"Yep. For all cars and motor bikes. I suppose I'll have to maintain the vehicles as well?"

"Yes. Take them to the garage; wash them."

Jack was laughing now, grinning at her, totally at ease. She found that she liked him more when she got to know him.

"Well, if you offer me the job, I'll take it."

"Yeah?" Jack paused. "We'll give you a month, see how it goes. If you're still pleased then we can talk about a permanent contract.

"Good. So what's your name?"

Lucy saw a flash of panic in his eyes at her question but it was gone as quickly as it had come. No, not gone, just buried.

"You know my name."

"You full name."

Again Lucy saw something flash in his eyes. This time it was relief.

"Captain Jack Harkness."

"Wow, captain?"

"Yeah."

Lucy didn't question further as she saw it was making Jack uncomfortable. She stood and walked to the door, Jack following her.

"So, it's Thursday today, when do I start?"

"Monday."

"Cool."

Lucy had found that since she'd started to interrogate Jack he had withdrawn into himself and he didn't seem like a shy individual.

* * *

Jack waved her off from the door and returned to the office, sitting in Lucy's chair. He didn't know why, after the amount of fuss he had made and inner turmoil he had experienced, he had even hired her. She was too young and she could die. It was a mystery to him why he had done it.

But he was puzzled by her. He'd seen something behind the shining eyes and eager smile. Lucy had a secret. And he was gonna find out what.


	8. Eavesdropper

Jack knew that with Lucy now hired, things would get easier, with one more person they could spread the work, meaning that they didn't have to go after ten aliens a day each. It would also provide back up, which was much needed. They were all suffering from fatigue at the moment which was the last thing Jack needed considering he'd just lost his whole team.

This would be easier than the last Torchwood though. With them it was question after question; they had wanted to know who he was, where he came from, what was his past and a lots of other questions that Jack really hated answering. But with this new team the only person to ask questions would be Lucy, John knew pretty much everything and Martha knew quite a lot, but as Lucy would see that John and Martha weren't raising any questions she wouldn't, thinking that Jack had nothing to hide, though it was going to be a bit of a shock for her to discover he was immortal.

Or that was the theory anyway.

The phone rang suddenly, jerking him form his thoughts. He groaned and got up to answer it. That was another perk to having a receptionist; she could answer the phones and would save anyone else having to belt up the stairs every time it rang.

"Hello?"

"Jack, its Martha."

"Hi, you know I saw you less than ten minutes ago right. I'm not going to disappear."

Another good thing about getting a new team; the new one wouldn't know about his failures. If he'd said that to any of his old team there would have been a cold silence reminding him for he time he had run off with the Doctor but with Martha she didn't even pause, nor did she give any sign that she'd heard him speak. But you can't have everything.

"I can't find John."

"How's that a problem?"

Now there was a silence.

"Jack I'm not stupid. I actually took the initiative to go and look at John s file. He's tried to kill you enough times and once he succeeded."

"We're over that now, so should you be."

Jack was surprised by the iciness in his voice. He supposed that protecting any of his lovers was just an instinct.

"I'm sorry Jack but until John proves himself to me, I won't fully trust him."

"Ok, ok."

Jack transferred the call to the cordless so he could move away from the desk and pulled open the door. He put the receiver into his shoulder so Martha couldn't hear.

"You know, eavesdroppers never hear good of themselves." John had been crouched outside the door, listening. Jack raised the phone to his ear once again, "I've found him, he hung up and turning, threw he phone onto the desk, and turned to John, demanding an explanation, though a slight smile played at the corners of his mouth.

John leapt to his defence. "Well Martha stopped me from trying to feed the pterodactyl."

"Good!"

"So I came up here. I was putting effort in. Trying to meet the new worker."

"And was this before or after Martha told you she was a beautiful young woman?"

"Before."

"Uh-hu." Jack started down the corridor but John called after him.

"She never said anything about a woman."


End file.
